A poll from home improvement retailer Wickes showed Brits prefer a well-dressed tradesperson, with almost half (49%) claiming they would be more likely to hire a person in professional clothing, and only 30% willing to hire a tradesperson in ‘everyday’ clothes.

Those who turn up for a job in scruffy or dirty clothes will find that 65% of customers are less likely to hire them.

Three quarters (77%) also admit to critiquing tradespeople based on how well presented they are, with low slung jeans or trousers (37%) being the most off-putting items of clothing, followed by ripped (23%) or dirty clothes (23%).

The findings also revealed the most irritating habits of tradespeople to be wearing dirty boots through the house (29%), closely followed by 28% of people claiming lateness and causing damage to property to be their ultimate bug bears.

Attitudes towards tradespeople in uniform was also examined in the survey, revealing that 8 of 10 would consider a tradesperson in uniform to be more professional, with almost 80% expecting a person in uniform to provide a more reliable and friendly service. Over half of (57%) would have more confidence in their ability to complete the job.

When it comes to gadgets, a third (34%) would be more likely to trust a tradesperson using technology. Identifying a shift in the way tradespeople carry out their work, 2 in 5 (44%) have experienced a tradesperson using a smartphone to quote or carry out a job, followed by a tablet (32%) or notebook/laptop (24%). Interestingly, drones are also now part of the tradesperson’s armoury, with 4% of those surveyed having employed someone who has flown one above their property to provide a quote.

Once hired, almost half of people (48%) will happily offer use of the bathroom to tradespeople working on their property, whilst 47% often offer use of the kettle and a quarter (25%) are happy to offer their driveway for easy parking. 9% of respondents would even allow a tradesperson free reign of the food in the fridge.

Shelley Allison, head of marketing - core, Wickes, said: “We can clearly see that customers consider tradespeople in professional workwear to be more reliable, friendly, experienced and even admit to paying them more; making this change in a small business could have great impact.”